Greek food suggestions???

I have seen your posts on Greece and even responded. It seems you have decided to travel to Greece without any knowledge. Many of us are happy to help forum posters.

However I do think it would be helpful for you to get a guide book where you can get many of your questions answered and you can have a better idea of where you are going and some background. The Rick Steves Greece book has lots of useful information including about Greek food. There are other books
as well.
Would you consider that? You are investing time and money in this trip and a guide is only a fraction of that cost but will return a lot for the investment.

Doing a simple Greek food search using Google resulted in lots of information sources. This is only one of many.

You could also put Greek food in the Search box on this website to get lots of references, then filter them as you see fit.

Beyond the many references you can find on your own, to help with the restaurant recommendations, we'd need to know exactly where you are going in Greece.

For general information on Greece you can also go to this section on Greece in the Explore Europe part of this website: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/greece

I hope those links and suggestions will help you with your trip planning.

Research is your best tool for finding info on Greek food and in general Greece.

One of the best reasons to travel to Greece is Greek Food.

Check out my photos of Greek food and some of the tavernas I've eaten at all over Greece. Some of the tavernas may no longer be open but you'll get a great idea of what's available at most tavernas.

One hint: avoid any tavernas that have colorful pictures of food and mostly in English and especially where waiters are outside trying to rope you into the tavernas.. They tend to be in highly touristed areas and while the food will be OK you can do better if you seek out where locals go rather than tourists.

https://tinyurl.com/yyrqkp2x

Maybe look into taking a food tour if that interests you. I didn't know a lot about Greek food when I went either, but took an awesome food tour in Santorini that really introduced me to a lot of Greek cuisine. There are a plenty in Athens I'm sure.

You cannot go wrong with Greek salad.
Tomato, bell pepper, onion, cucumber, feta cheese, some black olives.
Cut into large pieces, no dicing, then go with olive oil, splash of red vinegar. Some oregano.
There you are.
Greek.
It is on most menus in Greece.

Google search Greek food is good idea. But once you searched, you will find many many answers. Some says 30 must try. some says 25, some says 7. Then which one would you follow?

In the link for 7 essential Greek food above, no idea where to find them? In addition, it seems to me that the pictures are not corresponding to some foods listed.

If you see another 10 must try, it seems to me the answer is different.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/travel/europe/top-10-dishes-try-greece

One strategy is to compare different sources and find the common ones across the different sources. But that is tedious. So I am asking here.

research and planning can be tedious - or wonderful. It certainly takes work.

If you think that all those other lists don't agree, if you had 10 or 20 people give their favourites here you would have yet more things which don't match others.

You will need an open mind and and courage to try new things, and decide for yourself what you prefer.

If you look back generations into your original heritage, whatever it is, how would you choose the best ten items that everybody can agree on?

Good luck with your quest.

I've noticed your several questions but I don't think I know when your trip is. How much time do you have to organize the Italy and Greece trip?

Don't over think this.

You will be overwhelmed with tavernas especially in Athens but just about anywhere in Greece you go.

What one likes may not be what you like. Where one goes to eat may not be where you want to go.

Just about anywhere you'll find most tavernas offer good food, some better than other but overall mostly good.

Do you like seafood?

Do you like chicken and pork because that's the most consumed meat in Greece.

Vegetable dishes?

Pasta?

On and on it goes.

Gyros/Souvlaki are the most common food offered at tavernas but there are also many other offerings.

My advice is be adventurous, try something you've never heard of and you'll find Greek Food is excellent.

If you are fussy about what you eat than you'll miss out on all the wonderful Greek Food available.

"Gyros/Souvlaki are the most common food offered at tavernas but there are also many other offerings"

This is the answer I need. Note that I DON'T CARE WHETHER I LIKE IT OR NOT. I only care whether I tried the must try Greek food at least from local people perspective. It is EXPERIENCE that matters.

I found this one. At least the first three appear in most recommendations. I will follow this link and find them in Athens.

https://santoriniislandgrill.net/what-is-the-most-popular-food-and-drink-in-greece/

Also order some Taramasalada, fish roe dip. Eat it with pita bread, delicious! Pastitsio, , Moussaka.

Lots of honey is eaten in Greece. We eat these foods at Greek friends home and also while traveling in Greece.
However we ordered fresh caught fish and a Greek Salad for dinner almost every night for a month while in Greece,
You admit that you don’t want to spend time googling. But you expect others to do it for you. No thanks.

jyung -- do you live in a country where there are no libraries? Are you unable to find any guides to Greece in your chosen language? If you are comfortable in English, do you have only limited access to a computer, and thus are only able to do very limited research on your own? Or are you so distrustful of information sources on the internet that you need to ask separate questions on the forum for every single aspect of your trip?? Or does research on your own take too much time? Inquiring Minds want to Know!

If indeed you trust an internet source, the MATT BARRETT "Greece Travel" huge & comprehensive Website is an absolute treasury -- this link -- https://www.greecetravel.com/index.html -- has all his topics, so you can see at a glance which aspect of Greece & Greek Life to investigate.

This wonderful category -- https://www.greecetravel.com/greek-food/index.html is actually so huge it has its own index!! Every type of food is explained, with color photos of each as used in dishes. I have happily spent HOURS clicking thru this website.

This link even tells how to order in a restaurant -- http://www.greecefoods.com/restaurants/ordering.htm -- for each popular dish, he show pix and gives all the ingredients (in case of picky eaters), AND also tells how to order in Greek -- showing exact pronunciation in English lettering. Fantastic!! I have used this often -- and waiters always say "Bravo!" at hearing us try the names in Greek.

come on, jyung you say it's the Experience that counts -- why don't you try the Research Experience? it's wonderful!

This is the answer I need. Note that I DON'T CARE WHETHER I LIKE IT OR
NOT. I only care whether I tried the must try Greek food at least from
local people perspective. It is EXPERIENCE that matters.

Then how about experiencing a food tour in Athens? They can give you more insight into the food and explain why you may or may not like it.

There are many local companies that give food tours. Here's the one I did:
https://devourtours.com/tours/athens-food-tour/
You will sample several typical greek foods, cheeses, olives and drinks and learn a lot about Greek culture and see sites in Athens that you might not have thought about seeing. I agree we all need to experience things, but you also need to understand why and what you are experiences either through a local guide or advanced research before you go.

Off-topic. You might also want to learn a couple of words in Greek, to help make your experience a good one. You'd be surprised how starting a conversation with Kalimera (good Morning) or Kalispera (good afternoon or evening) will endear you to the locals, even those who speak English. And of course, ending with efcharisto.(Thank you)

Ultimate Athens Food Tour is not available at the time I am in Athens.

suki, I will try to find Taramasalada, fish roe dip. Eat it with pita bread, delicious! Pastitsio, , Moussaka.

I did google search. But so many information with different opinions. Note that some of them may post for selling their products. So it is better to ask the travelers on this forum who have Greek experience as reference.

https://www.greecetravel.com/greek-food/index.html

is not good for a traveler to stay several days. it is for people who will live there for a while.

The website has a long list for each category. Is that a good idea for traveler. Sorry. I only want to know food 1, 2, 3, 4....

Note that some of them may post for selling their products.

If you can't see the difference between a commercial website that wants to sell you products and a real travel guide website, try a bookstore where I'm sure you will find some good travel guides.

And the booksellers will not try to sell you frozen moussaka

Moreover it is interesting to note that you are suspicious about commercial websites while at the same time you want to book your guided tours in Athens with Viator

Taramsaalada is Taramasalata (minor spelling error, but then a google search would have shown that anyway) - that might aid your research

JoLui, Viator or Getyourguide list all options. They didn't say which one you should choose. It is up to you based on their description of tours.

Viator or Getyourguide list all options

Sorry but no, Viator or getyourguide only list Tour companies with whom they have commercial contracts, that's how they make money,

I say "tedious" because I felt that it may not be good way to find food recommendations by google search. It may not be an effective way for this specific category

Google will unearth plenty of food blogs and books, it's not only ads! Also, one person's "must try" food can be someone else's most hated thing... Taramasalata is a very good example, actually. Still worth a try, but not everyone loves it.
And in general when it comes to food, you have to leave room for the unplanned. It is impossible to plan 100% of a trip - unless you join a tour.

Go to any taverna in Greece and you'll pretty much find the same food. Some tavernas cook it better than others but it's primarily the food that Greece is known for.

Personally I found much better food in restaurants particularly where the chefs where being a bit innovative and moving beyond the staples but it's all subjective and one of the reasons I rarely provide restaurant recommendations.

Perhaps searching and researching are the real problem in finding what one wants. To much info and the inability to be satisfied with that information. On the web, on the forums, there is always more. More choice, more decisions. Paralysis. Insecurity in one’s decisions, if ever.

Combining information from different sources is my way to find the right answer. But for food, this strategy may not work. Too much variation among people on this aspect.

I agree..I enjoy combining what the forum members have to say and have been happy where the answers lead me! While research can be tedious..I just get overwhelmed..I also agree..Greek salad..lots of feta cheese..tzatziki..fresh pita..my fav is stuffed peppers and stuffed eggplant..the sauces are wonderful. I found Greek Taverna food very down to earth ..fresh..and very tadty..enjoy your time trying new things!

You “don’t care whether you like it or not” ????
I don’t understand.
Why would you not want to enjoy some lovely food??
Why bother, in that case?
This trip you (or we :O ) are planning seems to only be about rushing from place to place checking off a list of things you think you ought to do, not what you want to do.

I’ve been to Greece a few times, and have never been served any food there I did not like.

I think I would know if I like a food or not only after I tried it. So I first need know what typical Greek foods I should try in a limited time period and then make judgement.

Doesn't seem lijwcany answer satisfactory.
Just go to any restaurant then and order some of the typical things people here have suggested and have your experience.
I think you have more than enough information.

My goodness, just go and order things off the menu that look good to you. Likely they will be fantastic.

You can't ask someone else what will be good; everyone has different tastes. We took 12 people to Greece last summer -- some prefer veggie dishes, some prefer meats, one was gluten free, one doesn't like seafood, a couple love their carbs. Each person would recommend a different favorite from the trip. Everyone absolutely loved the food.

I wouldn't even research this -- just wander around, look at the menus, and eat what sounds good to you.

Obviously the OP is making this more difficult than it needs to be.

This is a no brainer but for some reason the OP is refusing to listen.

Over and out.

I agree with the above two posters.
This person is asking a huge amount of questions, but not listening to any of the polite replies he or she has been given in any of the threads.
I don’t have the energy to try and help anymore.

Can’t wait for the trip report…..

tommyk5, S J, and Chris, my apology and thank you for your posts, In my previous posts, I already mentioned that I will try the foods in the list below. I will bring the photos to restaurants and ask if they have them. If yes, I will order from them and then try them.

https://santoriniislandgrill.net/what-is-the-most-popular-food-and-drink-in-greece/

also thanks to suki, I will try to find Taramasalada, fish roe dip. Eat it with pita bread, delicious! Pastitsio, , Moussaka.

The list above is the final choice from many many Google search results. So it is unfair to blame me lack of efforts to do my own research. Especially think about a limited time in Greece. I think the foods above are enough for me. Again thank you for all of you.

What a great list - it looks like it has some of highlights of Greek food. I was surprised that Greece has some of the best French fries I’ve ever eaten and that they grow lots of potatoes. Also, I thought we would see more lamb on menus but actually we saw more pork.

I suspect you may have better results if you check menus of restaurants you’re interested in either online or displayed out front rather than showing pictures and asking if they serve that particular dish.

My favorites were the chicken souvlaki and moussaka.